NAME: Joseph P. Allen (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on June 27, 1937. His
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Allen III, reside in Frankfort, Indiana.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Brown hair; blue eyes; height: 5 feet 6 inches;
weight: 130 pounds.
EDUCATION: Attended Mills School and is a graduate of Crawfordsville High
School in Indiana; received a bachelor of arts degree in math-physics from
DePauw University in 1959, and a master of science degree and a doctor of
philosophy degree in physics from Yale University in 1961 and 1965,
respectively.
MARITAL STATUS: Married to the former Bonnie Jo Darling of Elkhart, Indiana.
Her mother, Mrs. W. C. Darling, resides in Elkhart.
CHILDREN: David Christopher, September 1968; and Elizabeth Darling, May 1972.
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: His hobbies include handball, squash, flying, sailing,
skiing, music, and photography.
ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the American Physical Society, the American
Astronautical Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Phi Beta Kappa, Beta
Theta Pi, Sigma Xi, and Phi Eta Sigma.
SPECIAL HONORS: Winner of a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany (1959-1960), the
Outstanding Flying Award, Class 69-06, Vance Air Force Base (1969), two NASA
Group Achievement Awards (1971 and 1974) in recognition of contributions to the
Apollo 15 Lunar Traverse Planning Team and for sub- sequent work on the Outlook
for Space Study Team; pres- ented the 1972 Yale Science and Engineering
Association Award for Advancement of Basic and Applied Science, the DePauw
University Distinguished Alumnus Award (1972), a NASA Exceptional Scientific
Achievement Medal (1973), a NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1978), and a NASA
Superior Performance Award (1975 and 1981), an honorary doctor of science from
DePauw University (1983), and the Komarov Diploma from the Federation
Aeronautique Internationale.
EXPERIENCE: Allen was a research associate in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory
at the University of Washington prior to his selection as an astronaut. He was
a staff physicist at the Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale University in
1965 and 1966, and during the period 1963 to 1967, served as a guest research
at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
He has logged more than 3,000 hours flying time in jet aircraft.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Allen was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in
August 1967. He completed flight training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
He served as mission scientist while a member of the astronaut support crew for
Apollo 15 and served as a staff consultant on science and technology to the
President's Council on International Economic Policy.
From August 1975 to 1978, Dr. Allen served as NASA Assistant Administrator for
Legislative Affairs in Washington, D.C. Returning to the Johnson Space Center
in 1978, as a senior scientist astronaut, Dr. Allen was assigned to the
Operations Mission Development Group. He served as a sup- port crew member for
the first orbital flight test of the Space Transportation System and was the
entry CAPCOM for this mission. In addition, in 1980 and 1981, he worked as the
technical assistant to the director of flight operations.
Dr. Allen served as mission specialist on STS-5, the first fully operational
flight of the Shuttle Transportation System, which launched from Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, on November 11, 1982. He was accompanied by Vance D. Brand
(spacecraft commander), Col. Robert F. Overmyer (pilot), and Dr. William B.
Lenoir (mission specialist). STS-5, the first mission with four crewmembers,
clearly demonstrated the Space Shuttle as fully operational by the successful
first deployment of two commercial communica- tions satellites from the
Orbiter's payload bay. The mission marked the first use of the Payload Assist
Module (PAM-D), and its new ejection system. Numerous flight tests were
performed throughout the mission to document Shuttle performance during launch,
boost, orbit, atmos- pheric entry and landing phases. STS-5 was the last
flight to carry the Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) package to support
flight testing. A Getaway Special, three Student Involvement Projects, and
medical experiments were included on the mission. The STS-5 crew successfully
concluded the 5-day orbital flight of Columbia with the first entry and landing
through a cloud deck to a hard-surface runway and demonstrated maximum
braking. STS-5 completed 81 orbits of the Earth in 122 hours before landing on
a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on November 16, 1982.
Dr. Allen was a mission specialist on STS 51-A, which launched from Kennedy
Space Center, Florida, on November 8, 1984. He was accompanied by Captain
Frederick (Rick) Hauck (spacecraft commander), Captain David M. Walker (pilot),
and fellow mission specialists, Dr. Anna L. Fisher and Commander Dale H.
Gardner. This was the second flight of the Orbiter Discovery. During the mis-
sion the crew deployed two satellites, Canada's Anik D-2 (Telesat H) and
Hughes' LEASAT-1 (Syncom IV-1), and operated the 3M Company's Diffusive Mixing
of Organic Solutions experiment. In the first space salvage attempt in history
the crew successfully retrieved for return to Earth the Palapa B-2 and Westar
VI communications satel- lites. STS 51-A completed 127 orbits of the Earth in
192 hours before landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 16,
1984. With the completion of this flight Dr. Allen logged a total of 314 hours
in space.
Currently President, Space Industries, Houston, Texas.
NOVEMBER 1989